Michael Phelps is a fish out of water, except when he is in that swimming pool. He seems right at home as he glides through the pool looking more fish than human. Kevin Clements, one of Phelps’ training partners, once said of his amazing ability, “He just feels the water.” However, his journey as a swimmer did not begin at the 2008 Beijing Olympics where the world watched his astounding record-breaking accumulation of gold medals. No, his journey began in a swimming pool at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club when he was five years old. Michael Phelps used his extraordinary talent and with dedication and hard work made himself the recipient of the most gold medals in Olympic history. Michael did not do well in school because of his struggles with ADHD. In fact, Phelps’ mother is quoted as saying, “In kindergarten I was told by his teacher, ‘Michael can’t sit still, Michael can’t be quiet, [and] Michael can’t focus.’ I said, maybe he’s bored. The teacher said that was impossible. ‘He’s not gifted,’ came back the reply. ‘Your son will never be able to focus on anything’.” Michael’s teacher was wrong. He was able to focus and he was very gifted. He excelled in swimming because it made it possible for him to focus. When he was underwater, he was in his own world. Every distraction was gone. In the water, it was just Michael and his goal: to win.
And he did. By age fifteen, he worked hard and already qualified for the 2000 Sydney Olympics. There he became the youngest male world record holder in history when he broke the 200-meter butterfly record. Three years later, he attended the world championships in Barcelona. There he shattered five world records and received six medals including four gold medals. Maybe this astounding swimmer just might be able to break Mark Spitz’s Olympic record of seven gold medals acquired at the 1972 Olympic games. However, Michael Phelps tried not to allow this daunting task to intimidate him or go to his head. He admitted he would love to receive even just one gold medal. Phelps stated that to be up on the podium and to hear the national anthem playing would be incredible. Also, instead of being caught up in the celebrity crowd, Michael Phelps has remained best friends with the same bunch of guys since the fourth grade, doing things that normal guys do such as playing poker, playing video games, and watching movies. His friends say you would never know he was a world famous athlete and world record holder because he acts like a normal guy. At least in his early career, Michael Phelps tried to be a regular guy and not to become an obnoxious celebrity. When the 2004 games in Athens began, Phelps was ready. After several races, he had earned five gold medals and two bronze medals. One more medal victory would make Michael Phelps the first person to win eight medals in a nonboycotted Olympics. Instead of taking the matter into his own hands, he selflessly gave up his spot on the relay team to Ian Crocker, whose performance in another race that week had made it impossible for Phelps to have a chance at beating Mark Spitz’s seven-gold-medal record. Since Phelps swam in the qualifying rounds, he would be awarded whatever medal the team won. His fate as a possible world record holder was in the hands of his teammates. Phelps showed true sportsmanship and supported the American team from the stands. Rewarded for his gesture of camaraderie, Michael Phelps received the gold medal his team won while he cheered. All of these events led up to the astonishing accumulation of gold medals that delighted his fans and frustrated his competitors: eight gold medals in a single Olympics. Phelps’ astounding God-given talent and perfect swimmer’s body combined with perseverance and hard work made him an unstoppable force. He won the first medal with ease, destroying his own world record and beating the silver medalist by a full two seconds. The second medal had a little more riding on it than Phelps’ gold goal. The French relay team had stated with arrogance when asked about their race against the American relay team, “The Americans? We are going to smash them.” Because of this comment by the French, American pride was on the shoulders of the USA relay team, and they did not let the Americans down. Jason Lezak swam ahead of the French Alain Bernard clenching America’s win and sending Phelps, the rest of his team, and every American watching this match into bouts of patriotic jubilation. The third, fourth, fifth, and sixth races seemed to breeze by as this “American Superfish” (the Chinese called him) broke records and dominated the swimming pool. The seventh race, though, is one that will go down in history because Phelps won when it looked like he had lost. A sensor on the wall recorded Phelps’ hand touching the wall a mere hundredth of a second in front of an incensed Milorad Cavic who had said earlier that a Phelps loss would be “good for the sport.” Phelps had heard the taunt and used it as encouragement to win. Finally, historic gold number eight came in the form of a relay. As in the Athens Olympics, his fate as a world record breaker rested in the hands of his teammates. Again, they did not disappoint him, and the USA relay team brought Michael Phelps’ gold count to eight, breaking Mark Spitz’s record. The world looked on and marveled. Michael Phelps’ amazing journey to the tallest podium eight times in the 2008 Beijing Olympics will not be soon forgotten. Through dedication to his task, Phelps has become a legend. After thousands of hours in the pool, countless training sessions, and the pressure of the whole world watching him, Michael Phelps is a champion. What did he have to say to the question of how it felt to be the most decorated athlete of all time? “I don’t know. So much emotion is going through my head . . . I kind of just want to see my mom.”
